Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Parents who've been through the worst pain imaginable join forces to protect children. Families who made national news after their child was kidnapped or murdered have created the Surviving Parents Coalition. These parents are members of a close-knit group that no parent ever wants to belong to. They have lost children to kidnappers, sexual predators and murderers all over the U.S., including Oklahoma. News On 6 crime reporter Lori Fullbright reports they will be featured in “People” magazine next week.

The names are familiar, Mark Lunsford, whose daughter Jessica was kidnapped from her Florida home. Her body was found three weeks later. Ed Smart, his 15-year-old daughter Elizabeth was kidnapped from their Utah home. She was found alive, but sexually abused, nine months later. Marc Klass, whose daughter Polly was kidnapped at age 12 from their home and murdered. Colleen Nick, her daughter Morgan was kidnapped from a ballgame in Alma, Arkansas and has never been found. Erin Runnion, the mother of Samantha who was kidnapped from home and found murdered, 70 miles away the next day. Magi and John Blish, parents of 16-year-old Molly who was kidnapped from her job as a lifeguard, her remains weren't found for three years. Linda Walker, whose daughter Dru Sjodin was kidnapped from a mall parking lot in North Dakota and found murdered five months later. Mika Moulton, the mother of Christopher Meyer, he was kidnapped when he was 10 and found buried in a shallow grave. Mary Kozakiewicz, mother of 13-year-old Alicia who disappeared from their Pennsylvania home. She was found alive, chained inside an online sexual predator's home. And Oklahoman Rebecca DeMauro, whose daughter Andi Brewer was also a victim.

"Nobody thinks it'll happen to them. Eight years ago I couldn't have believed I'd have a child kidnapped and murdered," said Andi’s mother Rebecca DeMauro.

These parents have individually created foundations to educate citizens and lobby for tougher laws. Now, they realize it will be more effective to do it as a group.

"If we can just make this a safer place for them to grow up, not see Internet porn, God forbid, be kidnapped, we want that to stop," DeMauro said.

These parents go to Washington DC on Monday to meet with members of Congress. They are pushing two bills next term, one, the TRAC ACT, tracks the actions of judges, prosecutors and police regarding crimes against children, the other, the War on Child Predators Act, gives better funding to fight child pornography.

TRAC ACT: Track and Report Abuse of Children

This law is a full-disclosure bill that will require states to track and publicly report the practices of judges, prosecutors and law enforcement agencies regarding crimes against children. For example, the number of plea-bargains, sentence lengths, and verified locations of sex-offenders.

War on Child Predators Act – Child Pornography and the Internet Crimes Against Children

Funding and accountability measures for law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies empowered to investigate and prosecute crimes against children. This law will focus on child pornography, but the funds used for forensic labs, investigators and U.S. Attorneys all dedicated to crimes against children will significantly improve the number of perpetrators apprehended and the number of children rescued from sexual abuse and exploitation.

Friday, June 22, 2007

Parents who've been through the worst pain imaginable join forces to protect children. Families who made national news after their child was kidnapped or murdered have created the Surviving Parents Coalition. These parents are members of a close-knit group that no parent ever wants to belong to. They have lost children to kidnappers, sexual predators and murderers all over the U.S., including Oklahoma. News On 6 crime reporter Lori Fullbright reports they will be featured in “People” magazine next week.

The names are familiar, Mark Lunsford, whose daughter Jessica was kidnapped from her Florida home. Her body was found three weeks later. Ed Smart, his 15-year-old daughter Elizabeth was kidnapped from their Utah home. She was found alive, but sexually abused, nine months later. Marc Klass, whose daughter Polly was kidnapped at age 12 from their home and murdered. Colleen Nick, her daughter Morgan was kidnapped from a ballgame in Alma, Arkansas and has never been found. Erin Runnion, the mother of Samantha who was kidnapped from home and found murdered, 70 miles away the next day. Magi and John Blish, parents of 16-year-old Molly who was kidnapped from her job as a lifeguard, her remains weren't found for three years. Linda Walker, whose daughter Dru Sjodin was kidnapped from a mall parking lot in North Dakota and found murdered five months later. Mika Moulton, the mother of Christopher Meyer, he was kidnapped when he was 10 and found buried in a shallow grave. Mary Kozakiewicz, mother of 13-year-old Alicia who disappeared from their Pennsylvania home. She was found alive, chained inside an online sexual predator's home. And Oklahoman Rebecca DeMauro, whose daughter Andi Brewer was also a victim.

]"Nobody thinks it'll happen to them. Eight years ago I couldn't have believed I'd have a child kidnapped and murdered," said Andi’s mother Rebecca DeMauro.

These parents have individually created foundations to educate citizens and lobby for tougher laws. Now, they realize it will be more effective to do it as a group.

"If we can just make this a safer place for them to grow up, not see Internet porn, God forbid, be kidnapped, we want that to stop," DeMauro said.

These parents go to Washington DC on Monday to meet with members of Congress. They are pushing two bills next term, one, the TRAC ACT, tracks the actions of judges, prosecutors and police regarding crimes against children, the other, the War on Child Predators Act, gives better funding to fight child pornography.

TRAC ACT: Track and Report Abuse of Children

This law is a full-disclosure bill that will require states to track and publicly report the practices of judges, prosecutors and law enforcement agencies regarding crimes against children. For example, the number of plea-bargains, sentence lengths, and verified locations of sex-offenders.

War on Child Predators Act – Child Pornography and the Internet Crimes Against Children

Funding and accountability measures for law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies empowered to investigate and prosecute crimes against children. This law will focus on child pornography, but the funds used for forensic labs, investigators and U.S. Attorneys all dedicated to crimes against children will significantly improve the number of perpetrators apprehended and the number of children rescued from sexual abuse and exploitation.

Saturday, June 9, 2007

Today is the 12th anniversary (I hate to use the word anniversary because that should be used to celebrate something good and this is far from good) of the abduction of my dear friend Colleen Nick's daughter Morgan. You can read her story below and just take a glance around you today (and everyday for that matter) to see if you recognize Morgan. Her family and community have never given up hope for her safe return and are praying diligently. Her mother says it best when she says, "LOVE ALWAYS HOPES." I agree. The photograph below has been age enhanced by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children using images of her brother, sister and parents. This is most likely what Morgan looks like today. *NOTE*I want to apologize to my friend Colleen for placing the composite image at the bottom of this page. I strongly feel that the composite drawing should be as far away from Morgan as possible. But, I also realize that this man has answers to questions over a decade old, so I placed it on here for that reason only. If you see him call the police.*

At 10:45 p.m. on June 9, 1995 in Alma, Arkansas, 6-year-old Morgan Nick was abducted from a little league ball game by an unidentified man. She was attending the game with her mother and had joined some friends to catch lightning bugs. Morgan was last seen standing near her mother's car where she had stopped to empty sand from her shoes.

Witnesses observed a man watching the youngster as she was playing with other children at the park. The witness also saw a red Ford pickup with a white camper parked nearby that disappeared at about the same time as Morgan. The camper is possibly damaged at the right rear, and was described as four or five inches too short for the truck, which has a short wheel base and paint dulled by age. The truck is believed to have Arkansas license plates.

The man was described as white, 6 feet tall, with a medium to solid build, a mustache and a 1-inch beard. At the time, he was believed to be 23-38 years old.

At the time of her disappearance, Morgan was approximately 4 feet tall, about 55 pounds, with blonde hair and blue eyes. Morgan had 5 visible silver caps on her molars. She was last seen wearing a green Girl Scout t-shirt, blue denim shorts and white tennis shoes.

A massive investigation has turned up thousands of leads, but still no solid clues to the whereabouts of Morgan Nick or her abductor. The FBI and local communities have offered a $60,000 reward for the recovery of Morgan Chauntel Nick and the identification, arrest and conviction of subject or subjects responsible for her abduction.

The search continues to move forward. There have been numerous possible sightings of Morgan across the United States. Morgan's parents believe that Morgan is still alive and hope that with continued media coverage, someone will be able to provide them with information that could bring their daughter home.DETAILED INFORMATIONMissing: 06/09/95Missing From: Alma, ARAge Now: 18 years oldAge at Disappearance: 6 years oldBirth: 09/12/88

Wednesday, June 6, 2007

*A Note from Rebecca*Please pray for this family. This is a terrible way to lose a child. *Wipes tears* It gets me every time. I hate it.

Missing Overland Park girl found dead in south KC

A body found this afternoon in south Kansas City is that of Kelsey Smith, police said.

Overland Park Police Chief John Douglass said at a 4 p.m. news conference that investigators had found a body about 1:30 p.m. in south Kansas City.

Although positive identification had not been made, Douglass said, “We have reason to believe we have found Kelsey Smith.”

Smith had been missing since Saturday evening, when she didn’t return from an errand to a Target store at 97th Street and Quivira Road.

Her body was found as more than 200 law enforcement officers searched a 900-acre area in south Kansas City. The search there came after police discovered that Kelsey’s cell phone signaled a tower in that vicinity Saturday night.

The body has not yet been positively identified.

Shortly before 2 p.m., two Overland Park police detectives came to the Target where family and volunteers have gathered and asked to talk with the family. The detectives left to talk with Smith’s parents at their home.

A family spokesman was expected to make a statement soon.

Volunteers who have been handing out fliers and canvassing the neighborhoods near the Target at 97th Street and Quivira Road had heard about the body being discovered but said they would keep searching because the body has not been positively identified and clues may be still out there.

At a noon news conference, police said Kelsey Smith’s cell phone signaled the tower at 8 p.m. Saturday. Kelsey’s car was last seen at 7:10 p.m. leaving the Target in Overland Park, which is about 20 miles from the search location.

Overland Park police said an analysis of cell phone data showed that the phone passed through telephone cells located on Interstate 35 to Interstate 435, then east to U.S. 71 south, and from there to an area in the vicinity of Longview Lake park.*A Note From Rebecca*This rips me up...every time. Please pray for Kelsey's family.

According to a police department news release: Cell phone signals, known as “pings,” occur when a phone is in use, either receiving a call or message, or sending a call or message. Family and friends were attempting to contact Kelsey on Saturday night.

FBI spokesman Jeff Lanza said about 240 officers are involved in the search, which began just before 11 a.m.

Standing shoulder to shoulder, searchers moved into a wooded area, combing it for clues to Smith’s whereabouts. The site was near a residential development to the west of Byars Road.

The officers are from the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration; police departments from Overland Park, Kansas City, Grandview and Lenexa; and police academy students from Johnson County Regional Police Academy, Kansas City, Kan. and Kansas City.

Kelsey is 18 years old. She's 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighs about 120 lbs., and she has brown hair and brown eyes. When she was last seen, Kelsey was wearing a pink tank top, black cotton shorts, and tennis shoes. She was driving an ‘87 gray Buick Regal with a Nebraska temp plate ("30 Day 458") on the front. This car was recovered at Oak Park Mall (Google map) - its original plate read WOZ 965.

Surveillance video from the Target store (see this page) shows Kelsey leaving before she disappeared. Approximately two hours later, her car was abandoned outside of Macy's across the street. Her purse and wallet were left in the car, but Kelsey is still missing. There is evidence that Kelsey may have been abducted, Her family and friends are desperate to see her again and have offered a $30,000 reward for information that leads to Kelsey's safe return. The police want to know where she was in the two hour span between leaving Target and the discovery of her car across the street at Macy's.

Police are currently searching for a "person of interest" based on a surveillance tape from Target (additional info and photo). He is a white male, 6 feet tall and 175 pounds, perhaps 20-years-old, with dark hair and a goatee. He was dressed in a white t-shirt, black shorts and black Converse tennis shoes. Other surveillance video from Target appears to show someone forcing Kelsey into her car.

And, police want help identifying a truck seen in the Target lot where Kelsey Smith was apparently abducted. The dark, older model mid-1970s Chevy truck with no license plate information was observed entering the same parking aisle as Smith's car on Saturday. The same truck was later seen leaving the Target parking lot at 9:29 p.m., ten minutes after Smith's car was left in the Macy's parking lot.

PLEASE, please let the police know any information you might have. The slightest detail may turn out to be critical to helping Kelsey return home. If you were at the Target store, or at Oak Park Mall any time late on Saturday 6/2/07 - and can think of *anything at all* that would help the investigation, please call the TIPS hotline with *any* information at 816-474-8477, or the Overland Park Police at 913-895-6300.

HOW CAN I HELP? Help by printing copies of this flyer and putting it anywhere that people will see it -in front of your home, on telephone poles, in front of your work, in your break room, ANYWHERE. The more people that are aware of Kelsey, the better the chances we find her!

A NOTE FROM KELSEY'S PARENTSIf you were involved in Kelsey's disappearance, please consider that we who love her want her to return home safely. Please find a way to help her return to her family and friends. It's the right thing to do.

If you have something to communicate with us via the internet, please send an email message to one of these 2 email addresses:

Amber Alert

Andi

Andi's Safe Place

A blog to honor the memory and legacy of 12-year-old Andria (Andi) Nichole Brewer who was kidnapped, raped and strangled on May 15, 1999.

And a place to fight for the rights of other child victim's of predatory crime.

NCMEC

ABOUT THIS BLOG

This blog has been created as a place where people can voice their concern's on the issues of child abduction, predatory crimes against children, and crime victim's rights.Please contact pettybecca@yahoo.com.Thank you,RebeccaAndi's Mom

Andi's mom Rebecca

About Rebecca

After the 1999 abduction, rape, and murder of her 12-year-old daughter Andria, Rebecca Petty chose to fight for the rights of crime victims and focus her anguish on keeping the children of America safe from predatory crime and abduction. Rebecca has worked closely with law enforcement, crime victims, children, parents, law makers and her community.She is frequently called upon by regional media in the event of a child abduction or any issue involving child safety to offer her advice and insight on the issue. In her efforts to create a legacy for her daughter, Andi, Rebecca has worked in her community to fingerprint and photograph over 20,000 children and has handed out over 10,000 home DNA kits. She has appeared on national and local television shows including the Oprah Winfrey Show and Phil Donahue show as well as written articles for her local newspaper and periodicals. She is also a member of Team HOPE, a support network for families of missing children. Runner Up for the 2007 Jefferson Award. She is also a founding member of the Surviving Parent’s Coalition, a group formed to empower surviving parents of children who were abducted and sexually assaulted, or are still missing, to work together and present a unified voice for legislation and prevention education that will maximize efforts to stop child sexual abuse, exploitation and abduction. Rebecca was part of a private round-table discussion with President George W. Bush and lobbied for the Child Safety Act that created the National Amber Alert system.